Just because you're damaged doesn't mean you can't be fixed. At twenty-nine, Luke Black is a college drop out, a has-been musician, a widower, a dead-beat dad and an ex-con. On paper, the man doesn’t have a redeeming quality. But in his heart he’s still searching for one thing—“normal”. All twenty-four-year-old Cocanda Rose has ever known is “normal”. And all she’s ever sought out is something that’ll make her mundane life just a bit more exciting. The rocker she fell for has broken her spirit and shattered her heart more times than she can count. Despite it all, she’s like a moth to a flame and has deemed herself irrevocably damaged. But there’s one person who has the potential to pick up the pieces. He’s her life-long neighbor, her best friend’s ex and the town pariah. He’s also the last person she ever thought she’d fall for and she soon becomes the only person who will stand by him. In the final installment of the Lewiston Blues Series, F.X. Scully picks up the pieces of Luke Black’s life six years after it was torn apart. But not without some hiccups along the way.

I follow him down the hall that separates the kitchen from the living room and he pauses in between the small space. The proverbial fork in the road. On one side is the tattered sofa, where I’ve spent more hours on than I can count—pretending to read while secretly spying on Luke, watching movies with our brothers, hanging out with Sheila. Straight ahead is the front door—my escape. Freedom from vulnerability. If I stopped this right now, turned to him and explained my actions away, blamed it on too much wine or a broken heart, would I regret it? To the right are the stairs that lead to his room. A place I haven’t been inside in as many years as we haven’t known each other. I can’t even begin to imagine how much it’s changed. Or what it would be like to sit on that bed again—with him holding me, touching me in places only he gets to see. I let out a soft sigh when he caresses my cheek. “Are you okay?” I nod and when he places his other hand on the opposite cheek, I close my eyes coming to a final decision. Before I can stop myself, I step out of his grasp, my foot hitting the first step. Luke is immediately behind me. The breath he lets out is so forceful it tickles my neck. And without turning back to see his reaction, I ascend.

F.X. Scully loves romance, but she doesn't write your typical Happily Ever After. Because let's face it, in the real world, it can sometimes take a lot of angst and pain before you get there. And some of us never do. But since most of us pick up books to escape the real world, her stories don't lack hot boyfriends and sexy encounters. Neither will she leave you completely heart broken, sobbing into a tub of ice cream. Rest assured you'll be on a roller coaster, but you'll be glad you went along for the ride.

F.X. is the author of TWO THOUSAND 3 (November 2013), BECAUSE OF LUKE (February 2014), BLACKOUT (April 30) and BLACK ROSE (June 15).